MANHATTAN, Kan. (KStateSports.com) – K-State powered its way to three second half goals to capture a 3-0 win over South Dakota on Sunday afternoon at Buser Family Park.
For the second straight match, K-State (3-2-0) tied the school record for goals in a second half.
HOW IT HAPPENED
– After a scoreless first half, K-State got on the board in the 64th minute. Junior midfielder Sophie Harlan slotted a ball ahead to sophomore forward Morgan Struttmann. Struttmann ran onto the ball and drove it to the end line inside the South Dakota 18-yard box, before sending a low cross towards freshman forward Allison Marshall. Marshall won the race to the orb by sliding her right foot towards it and sending it past the Coyote goalkeeper.
– Marshall garnered her second goal of the week and her first collegiate game-winning goal.
– In the 78th minute, the Wildcats had a different trio team up for a goal. Freshman Langley Mayers backheeled a pass to charging senior forward Kiran Singh. Singh brought the ball into the 18-yard box and then flipped a pass over the defense to junior midfielder Andra Mohler. Mohler collected the ball and cooly finished in the lower left corner for her first goal of the season and the second of her career.
– The Wildcats added an insurance goal in the 84th minute. Struttmann crossed a ball toward the South Dakota (2-2-1) frame. Coyote goalkeeper Cambell Fischer punched the ball away from Singh’s header attempt but sent it straight in the air. Mayers won the race to the sphere and registered her first collegiate goal by tapping her attempt into the wide open frame from seven yards.
– Junior goalkeeper Murphy Sheaff made two saves on the afternoon and earned her sixth career win at K-State and her sixth career shutout.
– K-State outshot South Dakota, 18-7, and held an 8-2 advantage in shots on goal.
QUICK FACTS
– K-State leads the series between the teams, 3-0-0.
– The Wildcats are 9-4-2 all-time in matches against Summit League members.
– The Wildcats are 16-35-7 in matches played in the month of September.
– Kansas State is 22-40-7 in matches played at Buser Family Park.
– The Wildcats are 3-0-0 this season and 35-12-3 in its history when scoring first.
– The nine goals in the last two games are a school record for most goals in any two-match span.
PLAYER NOTES
– With her two points on Sunday, Marshall moved into a tie for fifth in school history for total points in a freshman season with five.
– Mayers collected her first collegiate goal. She joined Marshall as the second Wildcat freshman this season with a goal and an assist in the same match.
– Singh tallied her fourth assist at K-State and her first this season. She moved into a tie for ninth in school history for career assists.
– Sheaff owns six wins in her K-State career and ranks third in school history for wins in a career.
– Senior Kenzi Gillispie recorded 84 minutes, improving her career total to 5,056. Gillispie is the third player in program history to play 5,000 or more career minutes.
– Sunday marked her 60th career match played, which is tied for 10th in school history. Gillispie made her 59th career start, which is second in school history for career starts.
– Senior midfielder Adah Anderson played in her 60th career match, which is tied for 10th in school history.
FROM THE HEAD COACH
K-State Head Coach Mike Dibbini
On the energy put into the ball today…
“I think they played with a K-State standard of making sure that they come out and provide that energy and that spark right from the beginning. We wanted to make sure that we created tempo and dictate the tempo of the game, and I think that’s what happened.”
On seven players getting assists on three goals…
“It shows what we’re trying to do in terms of stylistically, moving the ball, letting the ball do the work with a purpose. We’re a dynamic team when we do that. And there was a lot of nice play out there, and it was fun to watch.”
On all the goals being close range in the box…
“Keeping our patience and composure. We’re going to find an open player if we move the ball and let the ball do the work. It’s part of what we’re trying to do and build on the strength of this team, and it was fun to watch them compete and watch them let the ball do the work today.”
On the difference in tempo from last season to this season…
“So far, I know it’s still early, but believing in each other and believing in the style and we’re repeating and repeating consistently, being repetitive in what we want to do, and staying consistent with that too, as much as possible.”
On Allison Marshall’s two goals in two games…
“Extremely composed for a freshman. She’s confident on the ball and her abilities. We like seeing that she can come off and give us a spark, and she’s got a high IQ offensively, we need that part.”
FROM THE FIELD
Freshman Forward Allison Marshall
On her immediate impact on the team…
“I would say, I mean, that’s always a goal, as a freshman, you want to make an impact right away. And as a coaching staff, they make the decision so I just want to always work my hardest and fill in where it’s needed. And then if the goals come, the goals come.”
On her anticipation the pass from Morgan Struttman…
“Morgan is such a good player, and I’m so confident in her that she’s going to beat her player every time, and I knew she was going to slot that ball back, so I made it a goal of mine to get to that ball first before the defender got there. We needed a goal being it 0-0 at the time.”
On the creativity in the attacks…
“I feel like as the games have gone along, we’ve gotten a lot more fluent in just creating opportunities and connecting passes and not being selfish, and if your teammate has a better option, then they’re going to get the shot.”
Sophomore Forward Morgan Struttmann
On the creativity in the attacks from last season…
“I think that we have a lot more speed up top and more patience. And now we’re able to see that diagonal through balls are on more and I think that our vision in the back is just a lot better than it was last year.”
On Sophie Harlan’s pass ahead to create a chance…
“I think that I was trying to score. But then she [the defender] took away the angle, so she gave me the end line. Then I just started dribbling at the end line, and I saw that Allison [Marshall] is right there for the slot back ball. And it was on all day.”
On being able to assist and score with Langley Mayers…
“I think that we just see like playing simple, and where she’s playing attacking, I’m playing forward, and the 10 combines a lot more with the forwards so I think that me and her just work really good together. Just seeing the vision of the field and seeing each other open and bouncing the ball off of each other.”
UP NEXT
K-State closes its 2024 non-conference schedule in Week 4, as the Wildcats visit Arkansas State on Thursday, September 5, at 3 p.m. The road trip concludes on Sunday, September 8, at eighth-ranked Memphis at 10 a.m. Both matches can be seen on ESPN+.
